Homemade Dowel Maker

Written by wade shaddy

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Make any size dowel with a homemade dowel maker. (dowel image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com)

You can make homemade dowels the way they did at the turn of the century. One jig can produce all of the popular dowel sizes. All you need is a hammer, a drill, a 1/4-inch piece of steel and a clamp. You can purchase the steel at any welding shop, and in a few minutes in your own shop at home, you can make a dowel jig that will last to infinity and beyond.

Skill level:

Easy

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Things you need

Drill press

Drill bit, 1/2-inch

Steel plate, 1/4-inch by 3 inches by 10 inches

Hand clamp

Wood pegs, 9/16-inch by 9/16-inch by 3 inches

Hammer

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Instructions

1

Insert the 1/2-inch bit into the drill press. Position the steel under the bit and drill a hole through the steel, centred, 1 inch from the end.

2

Clamp the steel plate to a worktable with the end you drilled hanging out over the edge of the table.

3

Hammer a wood peg down into the hole until it is flush with the top of the hole.

4

Hammer another peg into the hole, driving the first peg out through the bottom.

Tips and warnings

Drill an assortment of different sizes of holes down the length of the steel to make all sizes of dowels.

Use a table saw to rip long pegs and then cut them to 3 inches with a band saw, or buy wooden pegs at a local hobby/craft shop.